Maysak moves closer to Phl

MANILA, Philippines - The typhoon with international name Maysak slightly accelerated as it moved closer to the Philippines yesterday, threatening to dump rains over eastern Luzon this weekend, the state weather bureau said.

Rene Paciente, senior weather forecaster of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said Maysak was spotted at 2,175 kilometers east of Mindanao as of 1 p.m. yesterday.

It packed winds of 140 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 170 kph. It was moving west at 23 kph from 20 kph last Sunday.

Paciente said based on their latest forecast, Maysak is likely to affect the eastern section of Luzon, specifically the Bicol region, on Saturday.

“If the typhoon maintains its present speed and direction, it will enter the Philippine area of responsibility tomorrow afternoon or evening,” Paciente said.

It will be locally named Chedeng once inside the Philippine area of responsibility. It will be the third cyclone to enter the country this year after Amang and Betty.

“There is a high probability that it will make landfall but we could not say as of this moment the exact area it will hit because it is still very far from the country,” Paciente said.

He said there is also a possibility that it will recurve to the north toward southern Japan.

Paciente said there is also a possibility that Maysak will weaken into a storm or a tropical depression before it hits landmass of Luzon.

“If it hits land as a storm, we expect it to bring moderate to heavy rains with strong winds, but if it weakens into a depression, we expect light to moderate rains with gusty winds,” he said.

PAGASA said one tropical cyclone normally enters the Philippines in April.